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Talk:Buddha
Why is Buddha an atheist here? Buddhists are polytheist, aren't they? And by the way, haven't people always known he was a party animal? Turtle Fan 21:03, 13 March 2009 (UTC) :Buddhism doesn't worship deities. It is more of a collection of concepts and ideals, with means and methods of achieving those ideals. ::They have deities. They believe in quite a few gods, actually. The gods are mortal, but live for millennia or even eons. When someone builds up good enough karma, they might reincarnate as a god. However, a god's existence is so easy and comfortable that there's precious little room for spiritual discipline and aesceticism, and in their next lives, they invariably fall back to earth. ::These gods will be no help in terms of getting you to Nirvana, but it's both acceptable and often profitable to pray to them to end the drought, give you victory in battle, save your sick mother, make the pretty girl fall for you, bless your latest economic endeavor with prosperity, et cetera. ::Then there are the boddhisattvas, souls that made it to Nirvana but come back to help show the way for the rest of us. I don't think they're gods per se, but they are often granted the trappings and faith of deification, particularly in Tibet, which drives most of the world's Buddhists in some way or other. ::So said the professor of a class I was forced to take on the subject in my last semester of school. And he himself was always very quick to point out that he was among the world's experts in the field. Actually he was just an asshole, but he did seem to know his shit, not that anyone cared. ::By the way, doesn't the Whaddayacallit, the Buddhist Gospel, show Buddha interacting with the gods? I seem to recall Ganesha in particular playing a role in his birth. Turtle Fan 23:22, 13 March 2009 (UTC) :Which is why Buddha is an atheist. It's not the ideal word, but it is probably the best available. Perhaps philosopher would be more useful. TR 21:13, 13 March 2009 (UTC) ::If anything we should leave it out altogether. You have to admit there's a certain absurdity to calling any religious giant an atheist. Turtle Fan 23:22, 13 March 2009 (UTC) :::I have a BA in history and religious studies, and Buddhism is neither atheistic nor theistic. THe best way of putting it is that it's both/neither. God/gods may exist in Buddhism, but that is irrelevant to the overall importance of understanding suffering in this world. You can be Buddhist and be an atheist, or worship a God/gods. Therefore, the atheistic statement is unhelpful because it overnarrows what should be a much broader label. Elefuntboy 18:15, 14 March 2009 (UTC) ::::Maybe for Buddhists as a whole, but what we really need to get to is the personal beliefs of Gautama here. Did he acknowledge any gods? I'm fairly certain he did. Turtle Fan 19:35, 14 March 2009 (UTC)